WASHINGTON – On Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm Russell Vought, a principal figure behind Project 2025, as the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Vought, who is 48 years old, received a confirmation vote of 53-47. He previously held this position during President Donald Trump’s first term, where he was in charge of managing the President’s budget, evaluating federal regulations, and determining funding priorities for various executive agencies.

During his earlier tenure, Vought proposed significant cuts to Medicaid and reductions in funding for the Education Department, the Interior Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, as reported by the Washington Post. He was also involved in halting military aid to Ukraine, an action that contributed to Trump’s impeachment in 2019.

Prior to his time in the Trump administration, Vought served as vice president of Heritage Action for America, an organization tied to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that devised a broad and contentious policy outline known as Project 2025.

Vought is noted for writing the section on executive authority, arguing that the president’s powers are constrained by a “vast federal bureaucracy” that formulates its own policies and agendas. Trump has sought to distance himself from Project 2025, which critics and Democrats have labeled as alarming and authoritarian.

After leaving office in 2021, Vought established the Center for Renewing America, a conservative advocacy group focused on countering what it views as “far-left ideology,” according to the group’s website. The organization supports Trump’s “America First” agenda.

Trump remarked in November, following Vought’s appointment, that Vought “knows how to dismantle the Deep State and stop Weaponized Government, and he will help us restore Self Governance to the People.”

During his confirmation hearing last month, Vought assured senators that he believes government spending can be a “burden” for average Americans and committed to using “taxpayer dollars wisely” in his new capacity.

Senate Democrats staged an overnight session on the floor to oppose Vought, contending he poses a danger to democracy and could negatively impact Americans due to his connections to Project 2025.

“His confirmation would be catastrophic for working families and a boon for billionaires avoiding their taxes,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a statement on Wednesday.

Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee had previously boycotted a vote aimed at advancing Vought’s confirmation last month.